Posts: 6

Topic: Where did this phrase come from?

Although, this is lenghty I found it to be an interesting read. I hope you enjoy this also.

Where did this phrase come from? They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.........if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor". But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot............they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it , think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . .. . brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and othersmall animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it becameslippery and sometimes the animals would slip an and fall off the roof.Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed areal problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess upyour nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over thetop afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hencethe saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would getslippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor tohelp keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more threshuntil, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. Apiece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.. Hence: a thresh hold.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the househad the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons andmen, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. Bythen the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hencethe saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle thatalways hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added thingsto the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. Theywould eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get coldovernight and then start over the next day Sometimes stew had food in itthat had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot,peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special..When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. Itwas a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They wouldcut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chewthe fat.Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid contentcaused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoningdeath. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 yearsor so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of theloaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the uppercrust.Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination wouldsometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walkingalong the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. Theywere laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wakeup. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of placesto bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to abone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realizedthey had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on thewrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the groundand tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard allnight (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone couldbe, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer...

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

So .. . . get out there and educate someone! ~~~ Share these facts with afriend like I just did! ! !

THIS INFORMATION IS NOT INTENDED NOR IMPLIED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

Re: Where did this phrase come from?

I can add this one from my decorative arts course. The fancy plastered ceilings in old English castles were difficult and time consuming to make. Once up on the scaffolding the plasterer was set to work creating elaborate decoration. To keep the plaster the right consistency, wine and other forms of alcohol were added to the plaster mixture. Ofcourse workers also helped them selves to the drinks which is why getting drunk is called getting plastered.

Re: Where did this phrase come from?

That was great. I also had heard of some of these, but did learn a few new ones. Thanks!

"One Day At A Time"

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